Barbarossa, rowing alone in a small boat, climbed the rope ladder to the flagship. To everyone's astonishment, he ran straight to the bridge and yelled at the first mate, who was directing the pirates to prepare for a cannon attack, "Notify everyone on board to leave port and return to port!"

The first mate could hardly believe his ears and stammered, "Boss... Boss, we just set up the arresting gear and the shells are already loaded. Are we leaving now...?"

Barbarossa, enraged, drew his scimitar, pointed it at the first mate's nose, and yelled, "You bastard, do I need to repeat myself? Depart! Return to port!"

The first mate's eyes widened in fear, and he nodded hastily, saying, "Yes, sir, I'll order the return to base right now!"

The anchor was hoisted, the sails were raised, and the pirate flagship slowly began to move out of its berth in the harbor, causing a commotion among the surrounding pirate ships.

Standing on the bridge, Barbarossa first glanced at the faint lights in the distant port area, then looked down at the slowly moving flagship beneath him. Losing patience, he ordered, "Tell the rowers on the lower decks to go full speed ahead!"

Upon hearing this, the first mate quickly went to Barbarossa's side and advised, "Boss, the port is full of our allies. It's difficult to turn around and leave the port if we're all crowded together. Suddenly accelerating the ship at this time will definitely cause it to collide with other ships and result in unnecessary losses..."

Barbarossa, his eyes bloodshot, slammed his scimitar against the railing and roared, "Tell those rowers to go full speed ahead! Anyone who dares to utter another word, I'll hang him from the mast right now!"

The first mate stared at Barbarossa for a while, then sighed helplessly, turned around, and went down to the deck to relay the captain's orders.

Soon, the pirate flagship broke through the waves and began to accelerate in the cramped space of the harbor.

As the flagship's speed increased, more and more ships were capsized by its ram.

After the pirates on those small boats were knocked into the water, it was difficult for them to receive timely rescue due to the darkness and the impact.

With the sound of the ship breaking apart and the cries for help from those who had fallen into the water, the pirate flagship gradually sailed towards the mouth of Muxi Port, and the firelight behind it grew farther and farther away.

The first mate glanced back at the horrific scene in the sea, closed his eyes helplessly, and sighed again.

Barbarossa, holding up his binoculars and looking north, asked, "How long until those northern fleets arrive here?"

After having his men inquire using light signals, the first mate reported to Barbarossa, "It will take about another hour."

After estimating the distance and time, the latter finally breathed a sigh of relief: "An hour is enough for us to leave here, thank goodness."

The first mate mustered his courage and asked Barbarossa, "Boss, may I ask why we're in such a hurry to leave?"

Barbarossa turned and walked to the stern of the bridge, casually found a spot to sit down, pulled out a leather flask filled with strong liquor from his pocket, took two gulps, and said angrily, "Don't ask so many questions! The thing to do now is to get back as soon as possible. After tonight, I will find those bastards who dared to deceive me one by one, tie them up, and throw them into the sea to feed the fish!"

Suddenly, the pirates on the watchtower shouted down, "Boss, there's a ship blocking our way one kilometer ahead!"

The first mate looked up and asked, "A ship? What kind of ship?"

A shout came again from the watchtower: "I don't know! I've never seen such a strange ship before! It's a small warship, entirely black, and you can't see any sails!"

The first mate cast a questioning glance at Barbarossa, who, while drinking strong liquor, waved his hand and said, "No matter what kind of ship it is, if it doesn't give way, ram it and sink it!"

The first mate nodded, signaling the helmsman to maintain the course.

Just then, shouts came from the watchtower again: "That ship has moved! It's heading straight for us!"

The first mate walked up to Barbarossa and said nervously, "Could it be an arson ship or a gunpowder ship?"

Barbarossa pondered for a moment, then ordered, "Open the bow gun emplacements and sink it!"

Soon, twelve eagle-beak cannons and four snake cannons were pushed to their positions at the bow. After the gunners took aim, the fuses were lit, and a dozen shells roared toward the black warship ahead in a blinding flash.

A short while later, a piercing metallic clang echoed from the sea.

The first mate, who was holding binoculars and constantly observing the battle situation, was startled by what he saw.

Several chain-shaped projectiles from the snake cannon struck the starboard side of the black warship. There were no broken planks, no screams of sailors, only sparks from the metal impact and shells that were thrown into the sea.

The first mate hurriedly ordered, "Change the shells to iron shells! Fire three volleys at the enemy ship!"

The cannons on the pirate flagship began firing round after round, the billowing smoke and flashing fire seemingly shrouding the entire bow in mist.

To the pirates' despair, after being hit by three iron bullets, two chain shot, and four volleys, the black warship remained unscathed and continued sailing towards the pirate flagship.

"That's a ghost ship! It's full of dead people, the shells are useless!"

Some of the pirates were so terrified by the scene before them that they began to flee from the bow of the ship to the rear.

The first mate pulled out his musket and fired a shot into the air, signaling everyone not to run away, but no one paid any attention to him.

The black warship sailed to within a hundred meters of the pirate flagship, then suddenly made a sharp turn, throwing out four objects with flames shooting from their tails, letting them head straight for the bow.

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